FOLSOM, Calif - Oct. 25, 2013 -- The Celebration of Miracles tickets are nearly sold out. Over 200 people will come together on November 2, 2013 at the Lake Natoma Inn in Folsom, Calif. to raise money for Friends of NICU. The organization supports families with premature babies in the neonatal intensive care units in Sacramento and the capital region.
This blog reports on the case studies, news releases, expert profiles and fast-breaking news from my clients. I also post links to relevant education and PR stories and occasionally make comments about issues of importance to my clients and network of writers, editors and reporters.
Friday, October 25, 2013
Free 60-day Trial of x2VOL Community Service System for Schools
DALLAS – October 21, 2013 – intelliVOL,
creators of x2VOL, is offering schools a free 60-day trial of its award-winning
x2VOL community service tracking and reporting platform. The free trial is
available until the end of this year, which spans the time when students are
most likely to volunteer.
Read more
Labels:
community service,
edtech,
education,
free,
high school,
intellivol,
product,
service learning,
x2vol
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Schoology Releases Resource Apps, Makes Third-Party Content More Effective for Students and Instructors
Integration Centralizes Google Drive, Dropbox, Evernote, Khan Academy, SkyDrive Pro and More into LMS
LOS ANGELES – October 15,
2013—Higher
education leaders attending the EDUCAUSE 2013 conference this week will get a
first look at the newest innovation from Schoology: Resource Apps. Schoology released
its App Center last summer, which enables third-party applications, such as
Blackboard® Collaborate and Turnitin, to plug seamlessly into the platform.
Resource Apps are a natural extension of the Schoology App Center. Now, rich content
from third-party vendors like Google Drive™, Dropbox, Evernote®, Khan Academy®,
and SkyDrive® Pro are universally available and readily integrated from within a
single Schoology repository.
Labels:
college,
conference,
education,
learning management system,
lms,
resource app,
school,
schoology,
university
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Ah, the things I've seen...
My son just started middle school. Last night I went to his
school’s open house and traipsed around the same halls he walks. Some readers
may recall that I was the public relations manager for PowerSchool in the years
prior to its acquisition by Apple in 2001. I’ve always been proud that our
school district, Folsom-Cordova USD turned to PowerSchool a few years ago.
Well, while listening to Elliott’s new Pre-AP math teacher (and while admiring
her fancy interactive white board), she loaded a page of products she uses in
her class. All three were products I have represented at one time or another:
PowerSchool, Holt and SpringBoard.
While I now feel a little older than I did at, say, 2:00
yesterday afternoon (perhaps well-seasoned is a better word), I am feeling
proud. I’m proud to have been part of these successes. It is amazing to
know I’ve been a positive factor in so many company histories. I have my favorite
products, which are typically those that do spectacular things to help children
learn. But above all else, in my 25 years of education and PR work, the people in this
industry are what inspire me.
Right now, I am working with a long-time friend and colleague,
Pam Nelson at SpringBoard. I get to rub elbows with Michael Glover who manages
to find the most exciting products in the world. There’s Bill Tudor, a GIANT in
this business who has hit 3 (or 4) home runs and has selflessly shared his
knowledge and enthusiasm with probably a hundred companies.
There are my old colleagues at PowerSchool and my new
friends at Schoology. There is the gem of a lady, Michele Pitman, at intelliVOL
who patiently waited for me for a whole year while I recovered from a viral
infection and is now my friend and client. Gosh, there are so many people I can’t even name them all.
No, I’m not retiring. Heaven’s no. I’m not even 50 yet. I
figure I’m half way into my career. I’m just being a little introspective at
the moment, happy to be in a business where my efforts are directly related to
my children’s education and the lives of millions more.
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Michele Pitman's response to excellent Education Week article on Compassion
Hurrah! I applaud you and your insight, Carol.
My mission as the CEO of intelliVOL.com is community service. Through community service, I see students discover something about themselves, that they are capable of giving and showing compassion to another individual through service programs run at their high school. We learn by doing. Young adults (and young children) who help others--and see the effect of their service--learn something we cannot teach through books or videos. These are lessons in compassion that positively affect someone for a lifetime.
I hope more schools will give students the opportunity “to have time to care” by building robust community service programs. Community service shouldn’t be relegated to the fringe, a voluntary club poorly attended. It should be a school’s mission, encouraged by administrators, modeled by students who pass the torch to each generation of students who enter their school.
--Michele Pitman, CEO of intelliVOL
What Really Matters in Education: Compassion
By Carol Lach, August 14, 2013, Education Week
An excerpt of Ms. Lach's article:
...We need to remember that education is not a one-size-fits-all product. While standards and expectations are important, we need to remember that not all students will be successful with four years of high school math. If I had been required to achieve similar athletic standards in physical education for four years in high school, I never would have graduated. If I hadn’t had teachers who dealt with the bullies and a sister who listened and understood me, I don’t know where I’d be today.
...We need to remember that education is not a one-size-fits-all product. While standards and expectations are important, we need to remember that not all students will be successful with four years of high school math. If I had been required to achieve similar athletic standards in physical education for four years in high school, I never would have graduated. If I hadn’t had teachers who dealt with the bullies and a sister who listened and understood me, I don’t know where I’d be today.
As you continue your work, please don’t lose sight of the students. Look for ways to help streamline policies and regulations so school staff members have time to encourage their students’ talents, and find ways to provide those students support, to be mentors, and to have the time to care.
Read the full article and comments at Education Week
Friday, August 16, 2013
Librarians Pick Schoology as Best App for Managing Classrooms
NEW YORK – August 15, 2013— Dynamic learning is
taking place in classrooms where students are using the Schoology learning
management system, recently selected by the American Association of School Librarians
(AASL) for having some of the best learning apps in K-12 education. The
Schoology mobile apps are native apps with specific functionality maximizing
how tablets and other mobile devices are used for teaching and learning. ...moreRead the full release on Businesswire
Labels:
award,
edtech,
lms,
press release,
schoology
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Going to College? Survey Conducted by x2VOL Says Service is Important
DALLAS – August 7,
2013 – College-bound high school students take note: 99% of K-12 school and
district leaders believe community service and service learning history positively
influence college acceptance according to a survey completed by intelliVOL, publishers of x2VOL.
In a survey of 73 district and school administrative staff attending the Naviance Summer Institute, 99 percent agreed or strongly agreed that service history positively impacts college acceptance. Additionally, 80 percent of the 30 college admissions officers surveyed agreed or strongly agreed that volunteer and community service in high school positively impacted college acceptance.
Read more here
Additional survey presentation here
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